Harper accused of plagiarizing Harris speech

[jdobbin]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...me=election2008

For the second time in five days, Liberals are accusing Conservative Leader Stephen Harper of plagiarism.

In a press release issued by the Liberals, Ottawa-South candidate David McGuinty accuses Harper of copying a speech given by former Ontario Premier Mike Harris in 2002.

The press release compares the speaking notes used by Harris on December 4, 2002, which are posted on the website of the Montreal Economic Institute:

"Thinking about things from a new and different perspective is never easy. It takes courage, conviction and the strength to know that in taking a new and innovative course, you are making change for the better. Genuine leaders are the ones who do the right thing."

Two months later, on February 19, 2003, Harper gave a similar address in the House of Commons in response to the Liberal budget:

Seems like a failure of originality.

Will there be anyone left in the Tory warroom if this keeps up?

[myata]

I wonder - is it the shortage of speechwriters? Or Conservative ideas??

[capricorn]

From dobbin's link:

Dan Dugas, a Conservative spokesman, shrugged off the latest plagiarism accusation as a Liberal plan to "deflect attention from their lack of an economic plan," The Canadian Press reported.

He added that the Liberals had found 44 similar words out of a nearly five-thousand word speech.

Here is the segment in question from Harris’s speech, given to the Montreal Economic Institute in December 2002:

Thinking about things from a new and different perspective is never easy. It takes courage, conviction and the strength to know that in taking a new and innovative course, you are making change for the better. I learned this through the tough work we did to pull Ontario out of [a] ditch and put it back on track with the Common Sense Revolution.

Harris then goes on to describe several initiatives taken during the Common Sense Revolution, before saying:

Genuine leaders are the ones who do the right thing. Leaders are the ones who do what they say they are going to do despite the opposition and protests and complaints from the special interests who support the status quo. That’s the leadership that the people of Quebec and the rest of Canada needs and deserves.

Compare those passages to this excerpt from Harper’s February 2003 speech in response to the federal budget:

Getting the job done will require new and ambitious thinking –- the kind of new thinking my party brought to Ottawa, the kind of new thinking the Liberal Party is incapable of understanding.

Thinking about things from a new and different perspective is not about reading the polls and having focus group tests. It is never easy because it takes courage, conviction and the strength to know that taking a new and innovative course is going to make change for the better. Genuine leaders are the ones who do the right thing.

http://j-rad.ca/2008/10/harper-harris-plagiarism/

The above also provides a side by side view of the part of the speech that contains similar wording.

Forget job creation. Reviewing Harper's old speeches is doing just that...for Liberals that is.

[Vancouver King]

I thought the Conservatives were supposed to be the smartest guys in the room. Oh wait, that would be the guys from Enron. Not to worry, we have a PM that apporpriates other peoples work as his own.

Another speech plagiarized proving Harper is no where as quick on his feet as many here suggest. These well placed campaign exposures move the elusive majority further away and threaten to relegate the CPC to the Opposition benches.

[Slim MacSquinty]

This is the stupidest ploy by the Liberals yet, the second speech bears even less similarity to the other than the first.

There is one silver lining in all this though;

Bob Rae is reading all Harper's speeches, perhaps he'll learn a thing or two.

[Richie777]

You know a political party is on the ropes when they start slinging mud. The Liberals are desperate to dig up anything from Harper's past to hurt him; but then, they have no faith in their leader and no real platform to stand on, so who can really blame them?

[blueblood]

I thought the Conservatives were supposed to be the smartest guys in the room. Oh wait, that would be the guys from Enron. Not to worry, we have a PM that apporpriates other peoples work as his own.

Another speech plagiarized proving Harper is no where as quick on his feet as many here suggest. These well placed campaign exposures move the elusive majority further away and threaten to relegate the CPC to the Opposition benches.

In the words of Ezra Levant, "If you believe that the Canadian public is that gulliable to fall for these kind of theatrics, you seriously underestimate the intelligence of everyday Canadians"

Time to step down from the Ivory Tower.

I can't wait to see what happens to the left when the Tory Majority happens, this is turning into Christmas!!

[blueblood]

This is the stupidest ploy by the Liberals yet, the second speech bears even less similarity to the other than the first.

There is one silver lining in all this though;

Bob Rae is reading all Harper's speeches, perhaps he'll learn a thing or two.

They've already brought out the soldier fear mongering ads. Defeat is imminent.

[capricorn]

This is the stupidest ploy by the Liberals yet, the second speech bears even less similarity to the other than the first.

Can you imagine all those eggheads, huddled over a computer in their mothers' basements, googling Stephen Harper in all possible spellings.

S. Harper

Steven Harper

Steve Harper

S. Harpor

Conservative Harper

Alliance Harper

National Citizens Coalition

etc. etc.

:lol:

[Vancouver King]

"stupidest ploy, "slinging mud", my oh my, sounds like direct hits are being taken by the Big Blue machine. Tories should hope todays drop in the polls reflects Harper's poor performance in the debates and not the first plagiarism scandal. If it's the latter this latest expose is going to really hurt.

[Hcheh]

C'mon Harper supporters.. You know it sucks, stop trying to justify it. It may determine if Harper is a bad Prime Minister/Candidate or not, but a mistake is a mistake, nobody is perfect. If only politicians these days would write their own speeches, like they did back then, and if it was really completely his speech writer's fault, it would have been avoided.

Edited October 4, 2008 by Hcheh

[Slim MacSquinty]

I don't give fig about the speeches, I remember many years ago in a philosophy class someone had done a statistical analysis of original thoughts and phrases, their theory was that the average person would be quite fortunate to have one original thought in their lifetime.

What I am interested in the depths of desparation that the Liberals will stoop to in order to villify Harper, this stuff is so thin and tenuous it is comical. They have been playing the same card for nearly ten years to no avail. They have nothing.

Listen we've been watching Harper in high political places for nearly ten years, including 2 1/2 years as Prime Minister and he has not lived up to the Liberal boogey man prophesy, If you don't believe they have dug through every archive, talked to every contact and turned every stone to find dirt on this guy you've naive. What have they got? A couple of phrases borrowed from public speeches. Harper is squeeky clean and it must be driving them nuts. Not only that, he's run the country for 2 1/2 years and no big screw ups, the so called right wing crazies never materialized and nary a ball has been dropped.

It must be really hard for those smug elitist to have Joe Middle Class make them look so stupid and shrill.

[lukin]

And Jack Layton uses private clinics.

How can one be a left-wing idealist without being a hypocrite?

[independent]

C'mon Harper supporters.. You know it sucks, stop trying to justify it. It may determine if Harper is a bad Prime Minister/Candidate or not, but a mistake is a mistake, nobody is perfect. If only politicians these days would write their own speeches, like they did back then, and if it was really completely his speech writer's fault, it would have been avoided.

The problem is Harper does not have any originality. Everything he says has to be written for him. The Conservatives are trying too pass Harper off as a leader. Leaders get quoted. Leaders do not have to repeat what everybody says. If you ask Harper anything he does not have a speech memorized for he has nothing to say. Duceppe is probably the only one of the five with leadership qualities.

[myata]

"stupidest ploy, "slinging mud", my oh my, sounds like direct hits are being taken by the Big Blue machine.

I think Harper's bunch may have the exclusive patent for slinging mud, ploys, and such so now they will SUE.

[Who's Doing What?]

I don't give fig about the speeches, I remember many years ago in a philosophy class someone had done a statistical analysis of original thoughts and phrases, their theory was that the average person would be quite fortunate to have one original thought in their lifetime.

What I am interested in the depths of desparation that the Liberals will stoop to in order to villify Harper, this stuff is so thin and tenuous it is comical. They have been playing the same card for nearly ten years to no avail. They have nothing.

Listen we've been watching Harper in high political places for nearly ten years, including 2 1/2 years as Prime Minister and he has not lived up to the Liberal boogey man prophesy, If you don't believe they have dug through every archive, talked to every contact and turned every stone to find dirt on this guy you've naive. What have they got? A couple of phrases borrowed from public speeches. Harper is squeeky clean and it must be driving them nuts. Not only that, he's run the country for 2 1/2 years and no big screw ups, the so called right wing crazies never materialized and nary a ball has been dropped.

It must be really hard for those smug elitist to have Joe Middle Class make them look so stupid and shrill.

I take it you never watched a single Question Period in the HoC.

The behaviour of the CPC was nothing more than that of a schoolyard bully.

[Oleg Bach]

Write your own speech or resign - we pay for heart soul and brains - and we are not getting it.

[Slim MacSquinty]

"Write your own speech or resign - we pay for heart soul and brains - and we are not getting it."

That's pretty naive don't you think, perhaps it's Joseph Stalin you want. The person who leads my country better not have time to write his own speeches. Have you ever had a staff, if you did you know that once you get up over 10 or 20 people you start having to rely on them to do much of your own detail work otherwise you simply get buried.

Edited October 4, 2008 by Slim MacSquinty

[myata]

The person who leads my country better not have time to write his own speeches.

Right, he better have time for writing laws he's not going to follow. Or talking about supporting agendas important to Canadians (like environment), he knows he's not going to do anything about.

How the leader of the country manages his time. Courtesy of CPC.

Edited October 4, 2008 by myata

[Slim MacSquinty]

Your boy hasn't lost the election yet, save the sour grapes for October 15th.

it would appear that the Cons have a better record of sticking to the law than the Liberals. Better look for a new mud puddle.

[blueblood]

Your boy hasn't lost the election yet, save the sour grapes for October 15th.

it would appear that the Cons have a better record of sticking to the law than the Liberals. Better look for a new mud puddle.

This story has as much traction as a bald tire on an icy road.

Next issue...

[jdobbin]

This story has as much traction as a bald tire on an icy road.

Next issue...

Since the Tories keep dropping in the polls, you have to think they are taking some hits.

The Liberals keep dropping but so have the Tories.

[blueblood]

Since the Tories keep dropping in the polls, you have to think they are taking some hits.

The Liberals keep dropping but so have the Tories.

That latest poll shows a large amount of undecided voters. I'd like to check out the polls after the tories release their platform, that could be a game changer.

the only big winners are the bloc and greens.

[jdobbin]

That latest poll shows a large amount of undecided voters. I'd like to check out the polls after the tories release their platform, that could be a game changer.

the only big winners are the bloc and greens.

I was never of the opinion that anyone's full release of a platform made as much a difference as how they did daily.

[blueblood]

I was never of the opinion that anyone's full release of a platform made as much a difference as how they did daily.

thats harper's gamble...